1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an inkjet recording apparatus that records information on a recording medium such as paper by ink ejected through a nozzle.
2. Related Art
An inkjet recording apparatus is generally provided with: a plurality of recording heads each including a nozzle face on which thousands of inkjet nozzles are formed; a plurality of nozzle cap members that can be disposed below and corresponding to each of the plurality of recording heads; a waste ink container for storing discarded ink; and communicating members such as tubes that communicatively connect the nozzle cap members with the waste ink container.
A nozzle cap member covers the nozzle face when a recording head is not in use. By covering the nozzle face with the nozzle cap member when the recording head is not in use, it is possible to prevent a nozzle from clogging due to dried ink and a foreign matter from intruding into the recording head via the nozzle.
The nozzle cap member collects ink discharged from the nozzles. Discharging of ink (so-called ejection recovery processing (purge)) is performed especially at a start of recording (printing). This may prevent use of ink in image formation, the viscosity of which may be high as a result of staying in the nozzles and the like. After the ejection recovery processing, a substantial amount of ink discharged from the nozzles is collected in the nozzle cap member. The ink collected in the nozzle cap member is fed to be stored in the waste ink container, for example by a suction force of a pump or the like, via the communicating members.
In addition, an inkjet recording apparatus is generally provided with a plurality of recording heads. For example, a color inkjet recording apparatus, which has three recording heads for each of four colors, it will have 12 recording heads. Furthermore, since a nozzle cap member is required for each of the recording heads, the inkjet recording apparatus is provided with 12 nozzle cap members. Moreover, since a communicating member is connected to each of the nozzle cap members, the same number of communicating members as the nozzle cap members, in other words 12 communicating members, are required.